It is well known that an electronic component generates heat as it operates. As the generated heat increases above a critical temperature, a failure can occur in the operation of the electronic component. Therefore, the excess heat must be dissipated to prevent such failures.
One type of heat sink used to dissipate heat includes a heat pipe. A heat pipe is a vacuum-sealed pipe that is filled with a heat-transfer liquid, such as water, and has the interior wall of the heat pipe covered with a wicking material. As the electronic component heats up, the “hot” end of the heat pipe closest to the electronic component also heats up. The liquid near the hot end of the heat pipe eventually evaporates and the resultant vapor collects at the “cool” end of the heat pipe where the vapor then condenses. The condensed liquid flows back to the hot end of the heat pipe via the wicking. Evaporating liquid again migrates to the cool end of the heat pipe. This evaporating/condensing cycle repeats as the heat pipe transfers heat so efficiently that the hot end of the heat pipe is kept at or near the same temperature as the cool end. Furthermore, because the boiling point of the fluid changes with the pressure, the vacuum within the heat pipe can be set such that boiling occurs at a desired temperature.
A heat pipe is typically designed for a specific electronic component. For example, the base of the heat pipe is typically the same or approximately the same shape and area as the surface area of the component to be cooled. Therefore, components having different surface areas and/or shapes typically need heat pipes that are specifically designed for those particular areas and shapes. Most prior-art heat pipes used in component cooling have a relatively large diameter (greater than ¼ of an inch). Furthermore, sometimes the bases of these heat pipes are rectangular and the heat pipe itself is round so the base-pipe interface may have a complex design. For example, the rectangular base may have a hollow interior that joins the interior of the cylindrical heat pipe. Alternatively, the base is solid with the heat pipe mounted to the base. This, however, is less efficient due to the added thermal resistance of the base and the material (e.g. adhesive) used to attach the heat pipe to the base.
The diameter of the heat pipe affects the amount of heat transfer through the heat sink assembly. As the projected planar surface area of a heat pipe increases with its diameter, the increase in diameter increases the air resistance, as the air is forced to flow around the pipe, thus reducing the air cooling effects.
Yet another problem with a heat pipe is that it can fail by forming a leak such that the vacuum pressure decreases, possibly by corrosion of the wicking material, contamination of the fluid, etc. As a result, when a heat pipe fails, it becomes less effective at transferring heat from the electronic component to the ambient environment and thus becomes less effective in cooling the component. If the failure of the heat pipe is severe enough, the component can overheat and fail.